by Kristina Gabalski
This year has provided many challenges for Lakeside Health System in Brockport, but CEO Hugh Collins says substantial progress toward a financial turnaround has been made and that Lakeside will be around long-term to serve the healthcare needs of the community.
Collins spoke recently with the Suburban News and Hamlin-Clarkson Herald. He says Lakeside continues to work on its goal to “improve service while maintaining a high level of quality. We are focusing on growing revenue while containing costs.”
He says Lakeside has had a significant amount of success at containing costs.
The process of reducing labor expenses has been approached incrementally, Collins explains. In April, Lakeside announced 50 positions would be cut, but initially, only 15 positions were eliminated. Recently another 15 people were let go. “The incremental approach is more tolerable,” he says, than utilizing a “cut, slash and burn,” approach.
On the revenue side, Collins says it is critical that community-based primary care and specialty physicians admit and refer patients to Lakeside for in-patient, out-patient and surgical services.
“Procedures must take place here,” he says. “If a patient is here in the community then they should stay here for service. It’s not helping patients to go 15-30 miles away.”
He says many people are still unaware of the high level and quality of service provided at Lakeside.
The hospital was recently awarded an “A” for patient safety by Hospital Safety Score (SM) and received 2012 re-accreditation from The Joint Commission (National Quality Approval Commission).
2011 New York State Department of Health’s quality measures show Lakeside leads locally and statewide, Collins says, in overall pneumonia, heart attack, heart failure and surgical care.
Lakeside has a full service ER capable of handling all patient needs with the shortest overall patient processing time in the region – less than an hour and a half – compared to an average wait time of 4 to 6 hours regionally, Collins notes.
Lakeside currently treats chest pain and is anticipating NYS designation for Chest
Pain in early 2013. Lakeside has been a designated Stroke Center since 2007 and Lakeside’s Orthopedic Center of Excellence continues to expand services with URMC/Lakeside board certified orthopedic and hand surgeons with 40 years of combined experience.
The hospital continues to work on expanding clinical services, Collins adds, and he credits Lakeside’s engaged workforce for the high quality of care offered.
“We have a great staff delivering service and quality day in and day out,” he says.
Lakeside is also working to remove competitive barriers with other local health care systems and promote collaboration among historically competitive organizations, Collins explains.
Lakeside currently faces competition from systems like Unity to the east and Medina Memorial to the west, but Collins says Lakeside will reach out to those systems in hopes of collaboration.
“The philosophy and approach to Unity has changed,” he says. “We want to cooperate with them on a regional basis.”
The two are already sharing some services/doctors and physicians from URMC/Strong and Rochester General also work at Lakeside, Collins notes. He adds that many physicians in the area have multiple hospital admitting privileges.
“Our future depends on our ability to collaborate and partner with one or more larger health systems,” he says.
The community must also support Lakeside, Collins emphasizes. “People need to come here and send their family and friends,” he says.
If you are referred to a specialist, tell them you want to go to Lakeside, Collins advises. If your physician doesn’t have privileges at Lakeside, “ask to be referred to a doctor who does.”
